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5. The overprotectiveness.

Home, sweet home.

Ocean

"Welcome home, sweetheart." The blond vampire grins as he opens a heavy looking door of their huge house. I had never seen a building this large; even the Invictus building paled in comparison to this one. How could anyone call such a massive brick building home? Did the entire bloodline live there? "My name is Octavius, by the way," he put a hand where his heart was supposed to be and bowed slightly. "Oh, yes, and this is Kieran," as Octavius introduced his brother, he purposely made the darker man sound unimportant. Did they have some sort of bad blood between them? The thought makes me smile; at least I came up with a rather funny line. Maybe one day I'll be able to use it.

"Thank you? My name is Ocean, but you know that already." Slowly, I enter the house, my eyes widen at the sight of the exquisite interior. There was no hallway leading to other rooms, like I knew from all the places I once visited. Instead, tall columns and a huge staircase took up enough space to fill a decently sized room. At the bottom of the stairs are doors leading to God knows where. I expected a dark-themed place, so the cream-coloured walls made me a little confused. Octavius grabs my hand and leads me up the stairs until we stop at the first door on the right.

"This will be your room," he says, opening the door for me. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see more of the inside of the room when we were interrupted by the deep voice of the other vampire.

"The doctor is here," Kieran growled, stomping toward the front door. His actions made me feel that he was deliberately displaying his petulance and strange hatred toward me. Each of his footsteps grew louder until he finally reached the door and yanked it open with so much force that it crashed into the wall.

"Did I do something?" I quietly ask the vampire beside me. Spending time with Octavius was less nerve-wracking than with any other vampire. The man didn't look at me like she I going to be his next meal, nor did he try to belittle me. Sure, if they could afford to buy me and her friends, the brothers had to have plenty of money, but Octavius didn't have the personality of a rich douche. That's why it felt right to ask questions, even if I wasn't addressed. If Vladimir stood in front of me, I would end up in his torture chamber for asking brash questions.

Part of me expected a threat of punishment, but Octavius waved away my worries. The man took my hand in his again and led me back downstairs. Kieran stood in the doorway, his back to Octavius and me. The blond vampire lowered himself and whispered: "Don't worry, my brother is a bit of a hothead; he'll get over it. I've invited a specialist who works exclusively with humans, don't be afraid to show her anything that bothers you. After that, we can sit down and talk."

My eyes widen as I took in his words. No being had ever cared enough to provide medical help, even if it had been highly necessary. The last time I had encountered a doctor was during the post-auction tests when Vladimir learned of the rank the vampires gave me. Even then, they never questioned me if I had any ailments or struggled with my health. The brothers bought me and my friends, but only I had to follow them home. So, what were they up to if they bothered to get medical help for me? Was I here to heal before another auction, and would the brothers then sell me to an old pervert?

Before I could think of possibilities, a petite woman appeared before me. She waved her hand and smiled, probably to appear friendly. But obviously, the doctor was a vampire, so it couldn't surprise anyone if she me. I jump in surprise, unaware of how to react to the sudden appearance. My hand instinctively squeezes Octavius', and the vampire shoves me behind his back so that he stands like a wall in front of me. "Damn it, Clarissa, of all the vampires I know, you're supposed to know better than to jump in someone's face like that." Octavius hisses at the woman. The doctor shows no emotion, her behaviour clearly bothers him. The vampire turns and lifts me in his arms, holding me close to his chest. "If you can't act like a professional, get off my property," he adds. Up until now, Octavius has seemed like the friendliest, nicest vampire I had met, but it turns out he has a dark side. But why does he react this way? Why does he want to protect me so badly?

Kieran rolls his eyes, watching the nonsense unfold before his eyes. To avoid any more future problems, the vampire speaks up. "Calm down, snowflake! She's here to help your precious toy; let the woman do her job. Now leave her alone and follow me; I have some papers for you to check." It seemed as if something irked Kieran. Perhaps the fact that Octavius got what he wanted? He helped me to kill Vladimir, for a minute or two, he seemed rather nice and fond of my presence, until Octavius joined us.

"If anything, and I mean absolutely anything, happens to her, I will hold you accountable." Octavius lets me get back to my feet as he glares at the doctor. Then his gaze shifts in his brother's direction. "Don't think I won't hold you accountable; you are just as responsible as our little doctor here. If anything happens to Ocean, I will behead you." The vampire threatens Kieran before checking to see if I was alright. He places a palm on my cheek and brings our foreheads together. "Don't be afraid to yell if you need me; I'll be right there. Trust me, she's no competition for me; she wouldn’t have enough time to think of hurting you before I kill her," Octavius whispers, promising me that he'll protect me from everyone. His cold lips press to my forehead before the man disappears, leaving no trace of his previous presence.

I stare in the direction from which I hear faint screaming and gulp. Being alone with the vampiress doesn't sit well with me, as if Kieran dragged his brother away on purpose. Finally, my gaze falls on the doctor, who is trying her best to smile without showing her enlarged fangs. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. The asshole brothers complain about my hyperactive nature far too often. Can we start the examination now? If you have any complaints, I will need a little more time to find the cause of your problems and come up with the best plan. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm jumping the gun a bit. My name is Clarissa, and I am, as they call me, a human doctor. Don't tell anyone, but I choose to work with your people because you're nicer. Vampires get on my nerves most of the time, but you are just as hyper as I am when you're comfortable. Shall we?"

"Okay," I agree and follows the petite vampiress into the hospital ward. I found out that the brothers manage to get hurt quite often, so they built a hospital wing in their house. The doctor sounded like she was talking nonsense - how can a vampire get hurt if they are immortal? Well, not quite immortal, and I knew that from my recent experience. But it couldn't be that vampires were attacking each other for fun, could it? Maybe they were involved in some shady business and often got caught?

For someone whose nature is to hurt people, Clarissa's hands were remarkably gentle. Her every touch was carefully considered; even when she pressed her fingers against my skin, it didn't hurt. I had to admit that the doctor was doing a fantastic job until she reached the area around my ribs and pressed her fingers against the skin. "Shit," I hiss out in pain, instinctively pushing Clarissa's hand away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. It hurt." I apologise.

"Is that a fresh injury, or would you call it an old battle scar?" Clarissa raises an eyebrow, visibly concerned. It wasn't like I had met many vampires, but the ones I had encountered were enough to make me think they were all horrible. First the Hunters, then Vladimir and his regular patrons - they were all overly aggressive and full of hate. Now, I met Octavius and Clarissa, and they were both gentle with me. Sure, Kieran is cold and distant, but I think it is in his nature to push everyone away.

"Fresh, that's from earlier," I admit as I stare at the wall. I don't want to appear weak or fragile, but some things couldn't be avoided, and the doctor would find out sooner or later either way.

"Okay. I understand you don't want to bring this up, but I have reason to believe your ribs are fractured. Luckily for you, medicine keeps growing, and it's been a while since the last time someone had to have surgery for it. So, I will bring you the medicine you need to take, and your ribs will slide back into place in no time, no scalpel needed. Is there anything troubling you?" Surprisingly, Clarissa is a very understanding person. Well, for a vampire.

I shake my head in disbelief. I can't believe I’m about to ask such a personal question. "Yes, there is something, but it's embarrassing," I whisper. My eyes dart to the door to make sure no one comes in while we talk.

"It's just the two of us; the brothers are busy; you can talk to me."

"What am I supposed to do when my period starts? At the nightclub, we had an older lady who provided us with heavily perfumed tampons. It was a pain to wear them, but the vampires never knew if our periods started. Please, don't think I'm trying to be rude, but you know... They're men." I exhale. "And I'm scared."

My confession made Clarissa laugh. Such a problem didn't exist among vampires, so it was pretty surreal to hear someone talk about them having periods. Besides, she told me that I am the second human Clarissa has examined - usually, the owners aren't as kind as the brothers. Most collared humans are low rank, so the vampires don't care if they get sick or die. "They should be fine; the only blood we covet is fresh from veins or bags. Period blood is not something that might get their attention. I will remind them that you need some sanitary products, and then you should be good to go, if that's all. Ocean, you can talk to me while I'm here."

I nod my head and thank the vampiress. Unfortunately, there is nothing more the doctor can help me with - I must face the brothers alone. We leave the infirmary and go back to the main entrance, where the brothers are already waiting for us.

Octavius jumps in front of me and caresses my cheeks to check that I am not hurt. Finally, when he is sure I don't have any new injuries, he pulls me into a tight hug and asks, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, thank you."

Clarissa steps closer and clears her throat. "Mister Jude, I will discuss the details with you later if that is okay with you. May I leave?" She playfully winks at me while the elite vampire doesn't pay enough attention to her. It is unheard of, but who knows, maybe we could become friends.

"Sure, go ahead." Octavius opens the door and grabs my hand. The vampire leads us into a vast room that somewhat resembles a dining hall. There were enough seats at the tables to take in at least a couple hundred guests. Octavius sat at the end of the table, tapping his hand on his thigh. "Come here, sweetheart, sit down." He offered his lap as a seat. Kieran stood beside them, but the vampire noticed the confused look on my face, so he pulled out a chair and offered it to me. I wasted no time and sat down. However, I didn't dare look up and thank the vampire directly. Instead, a faint whisper left my lips. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Kieran shrugged and trudged to the nearest window, pretending to have no interest in the conversation they were about to have.

"I want to know more about your life with Vladimir. So don't leave out any details." At this point, I knew the vampire was too curious for his own good. I would rather forget the years I had spent with Vladimir. I killed the vampire, but that wasn't enough proof that my life was a living hell. I would rather rest, maybe even sleep through two days, but the look I noticed on Kieran's face was enough to understand that the question needed to be answered.

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